I suspect more than a few Americans are baffled by how Kobe Bryant's accuser can retain
her privacy while he is exposed to public humiliation and career-threatening consequences,
whether or not he is ultimately acquitted. The "rape shield" law that protects
his accuser is an example of the plethora of laws and policies, loosely characterized as
examples of "feminist jurisprudence," that have corrupted the administration of
justice in our civil and criminal courts under the guise of protecting women.

Rape may or may not be the
most underreported crime as feminists assert, but it is undoubtedly the most falsely
accused of crimes, and has been since time immemorial.

Clearly, one of the parties is lying. Those with limited life experience may buy into
the politically correct party line that women rarely or seldom lie about matters as
serious as rape, domestic violence or child abuse. But let's get real. Women do indeed
falsify rape allegations, especially when there is a financial incentive, such as when the
horny, hapless fool is a wealthy celebrity. Rape may or may not be the most underreported
crime as feminists assert, but it is undoubtedly the most falsely accused of crimes, and
has been since time immemorial.

Kobe is justifiably paying a steep personal price within the confines of his marriage
and family for his marital infidelity. But if he is innocent of sexual assault, he has
already suffered tremendous injustice. Convicted or not, sports experts say his potential
for income from endorsements and such will take a serious, if not catastrophic, hit.
Regardless of the outcome, when all is calculated his financial cost will be reckoned in
the millions of dollars.

And yet the accuser, who is not a minor (19 years of age), stands to lose  if
Kobe is found not guilty ...what? Her reputation in the community where she lives? No one
else knows who she is. This will most likely have an ephemeral affect on her life, unless
of course she is telling the truth and is able to compel a backdoor settlement from Kobe.

Rape crisis centers are now
in the news again complaining about their budgets. But if the public knew what kind
of "crisis" calls these places actually deal with on a day-to-day basis, support
for them would soon evaporate.

While it is certainly premature to speculate about Kobe's guilt or innocence, we do
know that the unnamed accuser is alleging rape and that Kobe is claiming consensual sex.
However, the presumption of innocence didn't prevent victim's advocate and MSNBC legal
expert Wendy Murphy from describing the accuser as an actual "rape victim"
 and thus implicitly naming Kobe a rapist  on national television on the day
the charges were filed.

Such is the acceptance of feminist jurisprudence that such an indefensibly biased
statement  by a lawyer and former district attorney no less!  goes by with
scarcely a raised eyebrow by Dan Abrams, the host of MSNBC's "The Abrams
Report." Whether it's Clara Harris, Andrea Yates, or Kobe Bryant, for feminists like
Wendy Murphy and Gloria Allred it always reduces to one thing: man bad, woman good. Having
Murphy as a resident legal expert on gender issues is like putting a neo-Nazi on a panel
for race-related news topics.

On the same program, Murphy also bewailed the supposed lack of concern for the victim
by the media at the press conference held earlier in the day. "They were all
concerned for what this is doing to Kobe," she claimed. However, several of the
reporters did indeed ask questions concerning the victim  whom, don't forget, is
anonymous.

But no reporter asked the question I was waiting for: Since Kobe is claiming innocence,
then his accuser must be lying; therefore, will he pursue justice in some form of
punishment for her when he is cleared? That this question wasn't raised speaks
volumes about the real nature of perceptions and prejudices in rape cases.

Wendy Murphy wants to deny
men accused of gender crimes the ability to adequately defend themselves, regardless of
what the Constitution says and common sense recommends. For feminists like her and Allred,
the prevalence of rape can never be over-exaggerated, the legal definition of the crime
too broad, nor the burden of proof too low.

Clearly, a large part of the problem stems from how the legal definition of rape has
expanded beyond the universally understood meaning of the word: a male using force or
threat of force to have sex with a woman.

Several years ago, Murphy represented a rape crisis center here in Massachusetts that
was refusing to turn over a phone log that included the record of a call by an alleged
rape victim. The trial judge had ordered the center to turn over the records because they
were necessary for the accused rapist to defend himself, and was fining the center $100
each day that they failed to comply.

Rape crisis centers are now in the news again complaining about their budgets. But if
the public knew what kind of "crisis" calls these places actually deal with on a
day-to-day basis, support for them would soon evaporate.

Wendy Murphy wants to deny men accused of gender crimes the ability to adequately
defend themselves, regardless of what the Constitution says and common sense recommends.
For feminists like her and Allred, the prevalence of rape can never be over-exaggerated,
the legal definition of the crime too broad, nor the burden of proof too low. For them,
the end justifies the means. Rape shield law serves a Higher Purpose.

Whenever law is drafted that short-circuits due process for some perceived greater good
 watch out! Mischief and mayhem are sure to follow. Rape Shield laws are blatantly
unfair, but the ultimate responsibility for them lies at the feet of men who failed to
resist the feminist legal onslaught in the political sphere. If Kobe is innocent, perhaps
this case will raise public awareness and eventually lead to the restoration of
fundamental fairness and justice consistent with Constitutional protections of due
process.

# # #

Mark Charalambous, a resident of Leominster, MA, is a founder of, and the Spokesman
for, CPF/The Fatherhood Coalition. He is an instructor in the Massachusetts state college
system.